Petronas Lubricants opens Research and Technology (R&T) Centre in Brazil

Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), through subsidiary Petronas Lubricants International (PLI), opened its Research and Technology (R&T) Centre in Latin America.

The R&T facility, which is located at Petronas Lubricants’ blending plant in Brazil, Will focus on developing the latest industrial fluids, lubricants and greases while serving as a centre for technical expertise, customer assistance, product management and quality control activities.

“For PLI, this new R&T Centre in Latin America symbolises our commitment and deep-rooted belief in the power of technology to help industries succeed in the future,” said PLI Group managing director and chief executive officer, Giuseppe D’Arrigo, during the launch.

Also present at the inauguration were PLI partners and customers in the automotive and industrial business, as well as Petronas Vice President Of Marketing (Downstream Business) Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Syed Tahir and PLI Head of Americas, Guilherme de Paula.

The USD8 million investment joins PLI’s network of satellite R&T centres around the world, including China, Malaysia, South Africa and North America. These facilities have their nucleus at the Petronas Global Research and Technology Centre in Turin, Italy.

“We believe in Brazil’s growth ambitions and are committed to our goal to fulfill the market requirements of the largest economy in the region,” said De Paula.

The R&T centre, which covers an area of over 2,400 square metres and features state-of-the-art facilities, including ISO 17025 accredited laboratories for its team of chemists, engineers, and technicians to perform more than 105 different ASTM International test methods.

Over the past six years, the company had moved from seventh to fourth position of the top lubricant players in Brazil. Earlier this year, PLI announced it will be committing 75% of all future R&T projects to achieve its carbon dioxide emissions reduction agenda, through its unique approach in technology and co-engineering of specialised lubricants products.